International Jury President, celebrated Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi
The 2014 APSA International Jury has arrived in Brisbane to commence screenings and deliberations as they determine the winners in the region’s highest accolade in film, the 8th Asia Pacific Screen Awards, to be announced in Brisbane on December 11.
The 2014 APSA International Jury is:
International Jury President, celebrated Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi – the first Iranian to win an Oscar® (A Separation)
Acclaimed Palestinian actress, director and writer Hiam Abbass (Lemon Tree, Exodus: Gods and Kings)
Oscar® nominated Chinese director and cinematographer Lu Yue (Aftershock, Back to 1942)
Indian actor, producer and director Rajit Kapur (Two Paise for Sunshine, Four Annas for Rain)
Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen (Ilo Ilo)
Polish actor Maciej Stuhr, representing APSA’s alliance with the European Film Academy (EFA)
The APSA International Jury determines the winners in the feature narrative competition, and awards Best Feature Film
Achievement in Directing
Best Screenplay
Achievement in Cinematography
Best Performance by an Actor
Best Performance by an Actress
The APSA International Jury also awards the UNESCO Award for outstanding contribution to the promotion and preservation of cultural diversity through film and, at its discretion, the APSA Jury Grand Prize.
2014 APSA INTERNATIONAL JURY
JURY PRESIDENT
ASGHAR FARHADI A three-time APSA winner including Best Feature Film and the first Iranian filmmaker ever to win an Academy Award and ever to win the Berlinale Golden Bear, internationally renowned writer/director Asghar Farhadi is one of the only filmmakers to receive APSA nominations for three different films across the seven-year history of the event and his films have received an impressive 10 nominations in total. Farhadi recently received the Medal of Officier des arts et des lettres from the Ministry of Culture of France for his artistic influence on French Art and Literature.
HIAM ABBASS One of the most acclaimed and recognised Palestinian actresses working in international cinema today, Hiam Abbass has starred in almost 50 feature films. The talented and multilingual actress, director and writer works regularly in Palestine, Israel, France and the US. Abbass has collaborated twice with Israeli director Eran Riklis, on The Syrian Bride and on Lemon Tree, for which she won the APSA and the Israeli Film Academy Award for Best Actress and received a European Film Award nomination. In 2012, her first feature film debut as writer/director, Inheritance, screened at the Venice Film Festival.
LU YUE Lu Yue has been one of China’s leading cinematographers for decades and is also an award-winning director. As a cinematographer he is best known for his many collaborations with three of the most successful Chinese filmmakers of all time – Zhang Yimou, Feng Xiaogang and John Woo – among many others. Lu has been awarded Best Cinematography from the New York Film Critics Circle, the LA Film Critics Association, China’s prestigious Golden Rooster awards and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Lu is also active as a director, with his film The Obscure invited to screen at the Venice Film Festival.
RAJIT KAPUR Rajit Kapur is an award-winning Indian actor, producer and director recognised for his extensive work in film, television and on stage. He is a 35-year veteran of the stage, a favourite on television screens and popular film actor who works across multiple film industries in India. Kapur is a long-time collaborator with 2012 APSA International Jury President Shyam Benegal, having starred in many of his productions including as Mahatma Gandhi in Benegal’s The Making of the Mahatma and in Benegal’s magnum opus for television Samvidhaan – The Making of the Constitution.
ANTHONY CHEN After enrolling in film school aged 17, Chen’s international reputation was quickly established as his short films were selected to screen at numerous prestigious film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Rotterdam, Busan, London, Sao Paulo, Stockholm, Sydney, Montreal, Melbourne, Chicago, Hawaii, and more. His debut feature, Ilo Ilo, was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and was awarded the Camera d’Or for Best Debut Feature, the first award for a Singapore feature film at Cannes, and picked up over 30 more awards internationally.
MACIEJ STUHR Maciej Stuhr is a prolific and well-loved Polish actor and comedian and a much-sought-after host and presenter. In his acting career he has appeared in over 50 roles, worked with directors including Andrzej Wajda and Krzysztof Kieślowski, has been awarded the Polish Eagle for Best Actor at the Polish Film Awards and the Zbyszek Cybulski Award for Best Actor of the Young Generation. An eloquent and witty speaker, Stuhr has won the prestigious Polish Speaker Award and has hosted the Polish Film Awards, the Gdynia Film Festival and in 2006 he co-hosted, alongside Sophie Marceau, the European Film Awards held in Warsaw. In 2009 Stuhr became the Official Ambassador of European Film Academy.
The 2014 Asia Pacific Screen Awards ceremony will be held in Brisbane’s historic City Hall on Thursday 11 December at a glittering event, with nominees and industry luminaries in attendance.
The Awards, proudly presented by Treasury Casino and Hotel, is supported by Brisbane City Council and managed by economic development board Brisbane Marketing in a unique collaboration with Paris-based UNESCO and FIAPF-International Federation of Film Producers Associations, recognising and promoting cinematic excellence and cultural diversity of the world’s fastest-growing film region: comprising 70 countries and areas, 4.5 billion people, and responsible for half of the world’s film output.
View the full list of 8th Asia Pacific Screen Awards Nominees at: asiapacificscreenacademy.com/the-awards/2014-nominees